I go a therapist for other personal reasons, but not for my depression/suicide/SH. So how could I tell her? I go tomorrow.
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What will my therapist do if i tell her?

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I think she will listen and support you. Therapists cannot help us as much if we don't tell them everything that is happening. They can only address the issues that we tell them about. I hope your appointment goes well. Maybe you could update us later about it? :arms:

Just trust her as if she was a journal or some other form of talking to yourself. She obviously can't tell anyone and even though you are trusting her like I said, she can offer you more advice if you tell her these things. If anything she will probably be very happy you shared this with her.

OK, you're right about that - but you have to understand what it means.

If you come to your therapist and say, "I've bought a gun, and when I get home I am going to put a bullet in my head," yup, she has to tell someone. Probably get you hospitalized. Hospitalization is not a great time, but once your mood is stabilized, you will be glad it happened, because you will realize that ending your life wasn't such a great idea after all. You would be amazed the changes in your thought process once you are not depressed.

Same if you told your therapist that you had memorized the schedule for the train tracks across the street and were planning on putting yourself on them at juuuuuuust the right moment.

Or any plan where you said you meant to end you life.

But just saying, "I've been having thoughts about suicide," "I wish I could die," or even, "I want to kill myself," doesn't mean she has to tell anyone.

She will probably start by asking you if you have thought of how you wanted to end your life. If so, she will ask if you have already obtained the necessary equipment to do it (gun, rope, etc.), if you have planned where and when, and if you have come up with ways to make it more likely to be successful (timing it so no one will catch you or be able to rescue you, etc.). The more detailed your plan is, the more danger you are in of actually putting an end to your life.

If you can force yourself to use some self control (sometimes it is hard to do anything positive when you are deeply depressed and suicidal), you can and should use these questions on yourself. The more detailed your idea of suicide is (if you've planned out when and where, if you've written a note, if you have figured out exactly how to time it), the greater your danger is, and the more urgent it is that the part of you that is still rational and healthy needs to take control and get some help! I'm talking go to the emergency room, or sign yourself into the hospital if you have to. If somewhat less detailed, but plans are starting to fill out, maybe you need to call a suicide hotline.

Back to the therapist's office...assuming that you don't intend to kill yourself and you don't have a perfectly coordinated plan for exactly what to do, she will probably ask you if you are willing to commit to a safety plan. That means specific actions you need to take to make sure you are safe until your next appointment. You may plan to call her, or some other support person, at particular times of the day, and give an update of your mood and safety. It may be as simple as committing to calling her or some other support person if you start to get the feeling that you may not be able to guarantee that you won't kill yourself before the next session. If you have weapons in the house, it may include you agreeing to hand over all your weapons to a friend or relative to keep them for you, so you have to go to more trouble (and so think about it more) in order to act on your suicidal thoughts. It will really depend on your circumstances and how much danger you are in.

How do I know all this? I am a mental health professional.

Then why am I here? Hey, I said I work in mental health. I never said I had any! :crazy: